Reciprocating feed device



Jan. 6, 1953 J. J. GAPSTUR 2,624,441

RECIPROCATING FEED DEVICE Filed Nov. 27. 1946 2 SHEETS SlfEET 1 fJ'HEHTUP Jon/v Joan Gnps run Jari. 6, 1953 a. J. GAPSTUR RECIPROCATING FEEDDEVICE 2 Sl-IEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Nov. 27, 1946 m NM 14% R \m Em w Wm M Pi$11 R Q a Patented Jan. 6, 1953 RECIPROCATING FEED DEVICE John JosephGapstur, Euclid, Ohio, assignor to Thompson Products, Inc., Cleveland,Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application November 27, 1946, Serial No. 712,555

' 3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for supplying blanks to a machine intimed relation with the operation of the machine.

Specifically, the invention deals with apparatus for feeding heatedmetal slugs to a forging die press.

According to this invention, metal slugs are dumped in hodge-podgerelation in a receiving bin, and are automatically fed in end-to-endrelation from this bin through a heating tunnel. The heated slugs thenfall at timed intervals from the tunnel into a reciprocating carriagewhich intermittently feeds the slugs into the die recess of a forgingdie press. The plunger of the die press controls operation of thecarriage, so that a slug is only fed to the die recess when the press isopened, and so that the carriage is always retracted out of the path ofthe plunger before the press closes. The feeding of the slugs throughthe heating tunnel is effected in timed relation with the speed ofoperation of the press, so that only one slug will be fed to thecarriage after each feeding movement of the carriage.

A feature of the invention is the provision of quick-acting controldevices and actuators for the carriage, so that the press can beopera-ted at high speeds.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a lubricant feederfor the die recess which operates in timed relation to the movement ofthe feeder carriage.

It is an object of the invention to provide an automatic feed system forpresses, to replace heretofore-necessary manual feeding.

A further object of the invention is to provide a forging die press withan' automatic feeder capable of supplying heated slugs in proper timedrelation to the speed of operation of the press.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whichwill successively feed heated blanks to a forging diewithout manual aid.

Another object of the invention is to provide a forging die press with aquick-acting feeder carriage that is controlled by the press plunger,sothat it is always retracted out of the path of the plunger beforethepress starts to close.

Other'and further objects of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theannexed sheets .of drawings which, by way of a preferred example only,illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

Qn the drawings:

Figure l is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevational view of a feederapparatus for a forging die press, and illustrating parts of the press.

Figure 1A is a plan view of a portion of the feeder apparatus.

Figure 1B is an enlarged detail view, partly in section, of plungersupport structure in the feeder apparatus.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of a portion of theapparatus of Figure l, and showing the positions of the parts when thepress is closed.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but illustrating the positionsof the parts when the press is fully opened. Y

Figure 4 is 'a fragmentary isometric view of the slug-receiving end ofthe feeder carriage.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figure l, the reference numeral It designates generally a forging diepress having a vertically movable plunger H and a stationary bed 12. Thebed l2 carries a die block [3 with a flat horizontal top face l3a and adie recess I3b extending downwardly from said face and receivingremovable dies l4 therein. The plunger H has a nose section Ila adaptedto fit in the dies M for acting on a slug S deposited in the dies.

A bin ill for receiving slugs S in hodge-podge relationship is providedadjacent the press I0, and is mounted on a supporting frame It to bedisposed at a level abovethe top face l3a ofthe block l3. A vane 11 isfixed to an arm 24 which is pivoted about -I 8. The vane I! extendsthrough a slot in the bottom of the bin l5 and is movable between araised position, shown in Figure 1, and a retracted position at thebottom of the-bin. The top of the vane has a V-shaped trough l'latherein sized for receiving cylindrical pieces of the diameter of theslugs S only in end to end relationship," as shown in Figure 1. If theslugs fall crosswise of the trough Ila, or are in cocked relationship tothe length of the trough, they will roll out of the trough back into thebin l5 when the'vane is raised to position the slugs at levels abovethe'top of the pile of slugs in the bin. The vane feeds the slugs to astationary chute l9 communicating-with the forward lower end'of thetrough Ila in its raised position of Figure 1 and projectingforwardlyfrom the bin toa transversely extending inclinedramp 20. The slugs rolldown this ramp in sideby side relationship to a stop at the bottom ofthe ramp, and a plunger 2| then pushes the slugs in end to endrelationship through a tray 22 into a heating tunnel 23. The heatingtunnel has a track therethrough to maintain the slugs in their end toend relationship.

Referring to Figure 1b, the plunger 2| is slidable in a sleeve-likeembossment 22a of the tray 22 and has an enlarged head at the right endthereof with a coiled compression spring 2 la disposed between the headand the embossment 22a to urge the plunger 2| to the right and out ofthe path of slugs rolling from the ramp 20 into the tray 22.

The plunger 2| is aligned with and intermit-e tently operated by the arm24 acting as. a pusher plate which is fixed to a portion or vane |T--and pivoted on the pivot l3. The pusher 24 reciprocates with the vane I!and moves away from the plunger 2| each time the vane is raised. Theoperation is such that the ramp 23 is filled with slugs in side by siderelationship by the vane H, which lifts the slugs at a steep enoughangle in the trough Ila so that they will slide through the hu e 9 hd suess ve y res lved htheupp r nd, o he am never he, un e 2| i retracted,to permit a new slug to'itoll into the bottom of the ramp. Thus-the slugat the bottom of the ramp 20 is pushed out of ther amp into the tray 22when the pusher 24 engages the. plunger 2| to move it forwardly and, inthis positionof the pusher 24, the vane I1 is at the bottom-of the bin,to receive slugsin its trough Ila. Then the vane is raised and thepusher 24 is moved away from the plunger 2|, allowing the plunger toresume its retracted position out of therampZU, for allowing the nextslugto roll into the bottom of the ramp, thereby advancing all the slugsin the ramp, and making room for a new slug i .f m h 1 1 '1 The ushe 47nd-V are operated by a link; 25 from a bell crank 26 which is pivoted at21 on the bin I 5, andhas its other arm raised and lowered by a rod 28;.The rod- 28- is driven by, a crank 29 from an electric motor 36-operating through a gear reduction in a gear box- 3| to rotate adriveshaft 32? on which the crank 29 1s secured.

An inclined ramp 33 receives slugs S succession from the discharge endoithe hea'tingtunnel 23 and feeds the slugs by gravity to the upper end ofa chute. '34. This chute has a vertical leg 34a terminating above andadjacent one side of the top 13; of the block 13, This leg 34a is-out-ofthe p h o 'mo em htot he pmhserflli" l A ans er r n ot atev erate o ethe t p 734, o the, bloo s, 1.3 and; under thel' .4a of th hute- This car age-" as begshow ure h s o en-end d sluge th ront nd thereoihoundedhis a el 5a h ls d We l 35115 Theh e hber iii en n t oh y t o and. ot omasserts also at the front end thereof exoept for a shear ar 3 h h s releoe h yseated lo s 35 he. pper, i r erd ends o h de: was b n oehsthe QPh; o the w oi he ohemloeh he l l r om i pin ih o the ohehil er l dl awill be h reihefierhme full descri e erm t r hq o the. arr a e as soonas a S u beginsto p ou of he ot om orhe eh b r so an clears; the bottomedge of the bar; The bar is eie ab re lace e that in h event of is eiretraotion, o he ca ia assure th or... o e, un e o when the pre losesit i be the o l port n of the carria engag y he lun er nos and. i damaed) is e si r air d r r a ed-- Th carria e 3.5. ha the end thereofremote from the chamber 36 dennuig end secured to a pisto rod 3i) Ofpneumatic jack 45. The jack has a piston 4| on the end of the rod 39slidable between the ends of the cylinder 42 thereof. Tubes 43 and 44supply compressed air to opposite sides of the piston 4| in the cylinder42, thereby reciprocating the piston and shifting the carriage betweenthe positions shown in Figures 2 and 3. An air valve 45 selectivelycontrols flow from a compressed air pipe 46 to either of the tubes 43and 44. The valve 45 is operated by solenoids 41 and 43 which shift thevalve lever 45a between a position for connecting the tube 43 with theatmosphere and the tube 44 with the compressed air pipe 4 3, to aposition, for connecting the tube 44 with the atmosphere and the tube 43with the pipe 46.

A lever 49 is pivotally mounted on a support 50 under the carriage 35and is adapted to be tripped by an extension 5| on the side of thecarriage for pushin a rod 52 against the control plunger of a switch 53.This switch 53 is energ-ized and is connected by a wire 54 with thesoleno lhe o r sol noid .7 is c n ct through a wire 55 with an energizedswitch 55 having its operating plunger actuated by lobes 51a on arotatably mounted cam 51. The cam 5'! has pins 51b lying in the path ofan arm 58 which is pivoted at-59. on the plunger l I As shown in Figure1, the cam plate 51 overlies a face of the plunger H and the arm 58 isspaced from this face of the plunger to overlie the cam plate and haveone end, thereof move in a plane traversed by the pins 57b. A stop issecured on this same ac f e plunger t0- QYerl t e othe end of the arm58. This construction is such that downward movement of the plunger willmerely bring a beveled edge 58a of the arm 53 against a pin 51b to tiltthe arm without rotating the cam plate 51. However, upward movement ofthe plunger I I will bring the top of the arm 58against a pin 51b and,since the abutment 6|! will prevent the arm from tilting downwardly,continued upward movement will rotate the plate 51. The four pins arepositioned in equally spaced relationship around the forward face of theplate, as shown, and therefore each upward stroke of the plunger willeffect 90 of rotation of the plate. Since the plate only has twodiametrically 0pposed cam lobes 51a, and since the plu er only m s h l t0 n each u wa d t e, it follows that the switch 55 will only be closedonce by the cam lobes for each two strokes of the plunger. When theswitch 55 is closed, the solehold 41 is energized to position the airvalve 45 as shown in Figures l and 2, thereby admitting air to the. tube43 to force thepiston to the position shown in Figure3, This moves thecarriage over the block l3 to shift its chamber-defining end fromslug-receiving position under the chute 34, to slug-dumpin position overthe die recess I3b.

hen s sho hsF s e 3, the t ansfe ar g s thevohomb rifi 'ihi eoi w th thed e s eoes he s S, immed a y dro y. av t n o, the dies [4 and shortlythereafter the abutment 5| trips the lever 49 for closing the switch 53there by energizing the solenoid 48 and changing the setting of thevalve 4.5 to admit air to the tube 44 under the rod side of the piston4| to retract the carriage 35 out of the. path of the plunger II.

It, will e. note t at the, lobes, 5 oh he o Plate 5 e offset per he allfr m. t e i 511) so thatthe switch 56 will only be temporarily closed bya cam lobe 51a as this lobe moves past the s tch. du ing h t m he P at51 is being rotated by the arm 58. This momentary. closing of theswitch, however. is sufiicient to set the valve in the position shown inFigures 1 and 2 and effect a quick shifting ofthe carriage 35 to theposition shown in Figure 3. Before the switch 53 is closed by thetripping of the lever 49, the

switch 56 is again opened to de-energize the sole-.

noid 48. Conversely, the tripped lever 49 resumes its initial positionto permit the switch 53 to open as soon as the carriage 35 starts backto its retracted position and the abutment moves out of engagement with.the lever. [In this manner, only one solenoid 41 or 48 for the valve 45is energized at any one time.

Since, as explained above, the plunger I] must drive two pins 51b foreach closing of the switch 56 by a cam lobe 51a, the carriage 35 is onlymoved into the position shown in Figure 3 on every second stroke of thepress, thereby permitting an operator to remove a formed member from thedies l4. course, that the timing of the carriage relative to theoperation of the press can be varied at will by change of the camarrangement.

The cam lobes 51a also close a second switch 6| for energizing a timerswitch 62 which alternately energizes solenoids 63 and 64 of a secondair valve 65. Compressed air from a feed pipe 66 is intermittently fedthrough a tube 61 by the valve 65 into a closed pressure tank 68containing lubricant L. A tube 69 communicates with the lubricant in thetank '68 and with the die recess |3b to supply lubricant to the diewhenever the valve 65 is opened to admit air pressure into the tank forejecting the lubricant through the tube 69. This air valve 65 is shiftedbetween open and closed positions by the two solenoids 63 and 64 andremains opened for a predetermined period of time, controlled by thetimer switch 62 after this switch has been energized by the switch 6|.Thus, when the timer switch is first energized by the switch 6|, thevalve 65 is opened by energization of the solenoid 64 and remains openeduntil the timer switch energizes the solenoid 63 after an elapsed timeperiod.

The speed of the motor 30 is regulated relative to the speed of theforging die press In to actuate the pusher 24 only at such periods whenthe carriage 35 is being retracted to its slug-receiving position afterit has deposited a slug in the die. The plunger 2| thereupon advancesthe next slug into the tray 22, and all of the slugs ahead of thisadvancing slug, in turn, coact to push the end slug at the discharge endof the heating tunnel 23 into the ramp 33. The slug thereupon slidesdown the ramp into the chute 34 and out of the vertical leg 34a of thechute into the chamber 36 behind the shear bar 38. The bottom of thechamber 36 is at least partially closed by the support 56 so that theslug cannot drop through the chamber. The heating tunnel 23 canconveniently take the form of an induction furnace, and is regulated sothat it will heat the slugs S to forging temperature during the timeinterval they remain in the tunnel.

From the above descriptions it will be understood that this inventionprovides an automatic feeder capable of receiving slugs in hedge-podgefashion, and feeding them in succession in properly timed relationshipto a forging die press, thereby obviating the necessity forheretoforerequired manual feeding. The automatic feed device of thisinvention makes possible high speed operation of forging die presses andthe like, prevents overheating of the slugs to be forged, and maintainssteady output for the press.

It should be appreciated, of

It will, ofcourse, be understood thatlvarious details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principlesof this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit thepatent granted hereon otherwise then necessitated by the scope of theappended claims. I

I claim as my invention;-

1. A device for successively feeding slugs at desired intervals and inidentical positions from a source of slugs in hodge podge relation whichcomprises a bin having a slot in the bottom thereof, a vane in saidslotpivotally mounted at the front end of said bin for swinging from aretracted position in the bottom of the bin to a raised inclinedposition, said vane having a top edge with a trough therein'sized forreceiving from said bin slugs in longitudinal end to end relation onlyand adapted to discharge back to the bin any slugs raised thereby abovethe level of slugs in the bin which are not in said longitudinal end toend relation, a stationary inclined chute at the forward lower end ofthe vane to receive slugs from said trough, a tranversely extendinginclined ramp receiving slugs from said chute in side by side relation,a stop at the lower end of said ram in laterally spaced relation fromsaid chute, a plunger movable against that slug in said inclined rampwhich is bottomed on said stop to push the slug forwardly from the ramp,a pusher plate pivoted coaxially with said vane and reciprocatingtherewith for engaging said plunger, a bell crank pivoted on the bin, alink joining one arm of the bell crank with the pusher plate, a rodconnected to the other arm of the bell crank, a gear reduction unithaving an input shaft and an output shaft, a crank on said output shaftconnected to said rod for reciprocating said rod, and an electric motorcoupled to said input shaft for driving said unit, whereby reciprocationof said rod by said crank will rock the bell crank to reciprocate thevane and pusher plate for respectively feeding slugs in end to endrelation to said chute and for advancing slugs forwardly out of thelower end of the ramp.

2. A device for successively feeding slugs at desired intervals and inidentical positions from a source of slugs in hodge podge relation whichcomprises a bin having a slot in the bottom thereof, a vane in said slotpivotally mounted at the front end of said bin for swinging from a,retracted position in the bottom of the bin to a raised inclinedposition, a trough in the upper edge of said vane adapted to receiveslugs in longitudinal end to end relation from said bin and slide saidslugs forwardly when in raised position, a transversely extendinginclined ramp communicating with the forward lower end of said vanetrough to receive slugs therefrom, said ramp having a. stop at the lowerend thereof and bein arranged to advance the slugs in side by siderelation for successive deposit against said stop, a plunger movableagainst the end of a slug bottomed on said stop to push the slugforwardly out of the path of the other slugs in the ramp, and means forreciprocating said plunger and for raising and lowering said vanebetween slu receiving and slug-discharging positions in said bin,whereby slugs will be successively fed in end to end relation out of thefront end of the bin and will advance laterally in side by side relationto the lower end of the ramp to be successively discharged forwardly outof the lower end of the ramp by said plunger.

3- A11 eu ematie leader for pr se /and, the li whie some. .;e.h n ,e.blad n sei i a i a trpngn alqng the upper. edge thereof for rece yin.111555. frq ll the bin longitudinal end to nd xe tiqmm eiis for rai nga d lowering h bladeto position the trough at a slug-receiving level andat a slug-discharging incline to slide slugs in end to end relation outof the forward end of the bin, a transversely inclined rampcommunieating with the forward end of the trough and a. reciprocatingplunger at the lower end of said-rampior advancing slugs therefrom,whereby slugs will move down the ramp in side by side relationship andwill be successively ejected from the lower end of the ram-p, cam meansfor operating said plunger and means operably connecting said cam meansand said blade for operation of-said-plunger and said blade in timedrelation.

JOHN JGSEPH GAPSTUR.

REF BE E C T TllQfQHQWing references are. of record in t e file of thispaten UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 133,066 Stetson Nov. 12,1872 821,946 Marshall May 29, 1906 915,542 Biertuempfel I Mar. 16, 19091,252,562 Fassinger Jan. 8, 1918 1,311,599 Bingham July 29, 19191,336,171 Trace Apr. 6, 1920 2,327,849 7 Wolfe Aug. 24, 1943 2,347,875Bratz May 2, 194:}1v

